Miguel Castanho Lab

Our research is focused on two main areas: drug therapies and drug delivery systems. We aim to rationally design and develop new drugs or delivery mechanisms that tackle specific diseases, mainly those having targets that are hard to reach. Among others, we design and develop drugs and drug carriers able to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), or antibiotics able to penetrate the matrix of bacterial biofilms. We employ advanced biochemistry and biophysical techniques, including surface plasmon resonance and atomic force microscopy. We also use in vitrobarrier models to address the BBB and blood-placenta barrier (BPB) translocation activity, as well as in vivo models of viral infection.

• Drug Therapies
  Our lab focuses on developing:
• Brain- and placenta-targeted Antivirals
• Anti-infective and anticancer small proteins
• Antimicrobial and anticancer peptides

• Drug Delivery Systems
  We develop advanced systems such as:
• • Brain-targeted peptide carriers
  • Organ-on-Chips or Human models for drug screening:

• 2D in vitro BBB
• 3DBBB
• 3D patient-derived models of human disease
• Organ-on-a-chip

2024/2025: “Desenvolvimento de novos modelos pré-clínicos de cancro cerebral pediátrico – uma estratégia eficaz e robusta para acelerar o desenvolvimento de novos fármacos.” Principal Investigator: Marco Cavaco. Funding agency: AICIB and PNDO/DGS.

2024/2028: EvaMobs: A multidisciplinary approach to design the antiviral biologics of the future. Coordinator at GIMM: Ana Salomé Veiga. Funding Agency: European Union’s HORIZON – Research and Innovation Action (RIA). Reference: GA101137419. https://evamobs.eu/

2024/2028: AvithRapid: Antiviral Therapeutics for Rapid Response Against Pandemic Infectious Diseases. Coordinator at GIMM: Miguel Castanho. Funding Agency: European Union’s HORIZON-HLTH-2023-DISEASE-03 program. Reference: GA101137192. https://avithrapid.eu/

2024/2025: 3D-TNBC-BM: Development of an organ-on-a-chip of triple-negative breast cancer-brain metastases for drug screening. Principal Investigator: Vera Neves. Funding Agency: Funds from the PRR. Funds allocated to iMM as CTI (Center for Technology and Innovation).

2022/2025: Smart ocular lenses for the treatment of diabetic eye diseases. Coordinator at GIMM: Ana Herdade. Funding Agency: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. Reference: PTDC/CTM-CTM/2353/2021.

2022/2025: COVID_CATbodies: Development of potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies fragments for COVID-19 derived from domestic cats naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2. Coordinator at GIMM: Christine Cruz Oliveira. Funding Agency: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. Reference: PTDC/CVT-CVT/0149/2021.

2022/2025: The BioPlaTTar platform for the tailored and rapid development of antiviral biopharmaceuticals. Coordinator at GIMM: Ana Salomé Veiga. Funding Agency: “la Caixa” Foundation. Reference: LA CAIXA – HR22-00722 – BIOPLATTAR.

2022/2025: Search-AnD-See: Towards the development of a nanoparticle for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease, based on the reversible translocation of the blood brain barrier. Principal Investigator: Vera Neves. Funding Agency: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. Reference: PTDC/BTM-MAT/2472/2021.

2022/2025: Towards the development of a nanoparticle for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease, based on the reversible translocation of the blood brain barrier. Principal Investigator: Vera Neves. Funding Agency: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. Reference: PTDC/BTM-MAT/2472/2021.

2021/2024: Protecting the brain from metastatic breast cancer. Principal Investigator: Miguel Castanho. Funding Agency: “la Caixa” Foundation. Reference: LA CAIXA – BREAST-BRAIN-N-BBB – HR21-00605.

2019/2025: “One size fits all” unique drug to eradicate multiple viral species simultaneously from the central nervous system of co-infected individuals – NOVIRUSES2BRAIN. Principal Investigator: Miguel Castanho. Funding Agency: European Commission. Reference: GA 828774 – H2020-FETOPEN-2018. https://www.noviruses2brain.pt/

2022: Recognitions by the newspapers Correio do Ribatejo and O Mirante for contributions to science communication.

2020: Personality of the Year 2020 by the newspaper O Mirante, Portugal, December 31, 2020.

2019: Pedagogical Merit Award of Prof. Doutor J. Gomes-Pedro, awarded by the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon.

2019: Scientific Award of the University of Lisbon / Caixa Geral de Depósitos 2018 in the scientific area of Biomedical Sciences.

2015: Grünenthal Foundation – DOR Award, Clinical Research, for the study of drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and chronic pain.

2014: Leonidas Zervas Award from the European Peptide Society for achievements in peptide science.

2012–2015: Special Visiting Researcher in Medical Biochemistry (Postgraduate and Outreach Programs) at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

2012: Named International Local Ambassador by the Biochemical Society UK.

2011: Featured in the Biophysicist in Profile section of the Biophysical Society USA Newsletter (June 2011).

2009: Grünenthal Foundation, DOR Award (2008), Basic Science, for the study of the analgesic neuropeptide kyotorphin.

2005: Professor José Luis Champalimaud Award, National Secretariat for Health, Ministry of Health, for contributions to the study of innovative drugs against HIV.

2004: Dr. José Luis Champalimaud Award, National Commission for the Fight Against AIDS, for contributions to the understanding of the mechanism of action of anti-HIV peptide drugs.

2004: Vicente de Seabra Medal, Portuguese Chemical Society, for contributions to the development of chemistry during the early career phase.

Some of the current projects:

– NOVIRUSES2BRAIN – https://www.noviruses2brain.pt/

– BREAST-BRAIN-N-BBB project – https://breast-brain-n-bbb.imm.medicina.ulisboa.pt/en/

– AvithRapid project- https://avithrapid.eu/

– EvaMobs project – https://evamobs.eu/

Past projects:

• “INPACT – Innovative peptides against cancer and pathogenic bacteria”, YouTube video posted by In Motion Science, 24 May, 2018.
• “Challenging metastatic breast cancer with the natural defensin PvD1”, YouTube video posted by In Motion Science, 24 May, 2018.
• “Peptides Against Pain – PEP2BRAIN”, YouTube video, posted by Sociedade Portuguesa de Bioquímica, 27 July, 2012.
• “Blood Brain Barrier”, YouTube video, posted by Sociedade Portuguesa de Bioquímica, 27 July, 2012.
• “Sociedade Portuguesa de Bioquímica 2012”, YouTube video, posted by Sociedade Portuguesa de Bioquímica, 26 March, 2012.
• “Beon vídeo – with the collaboration of SPB”, YouTube video, posted by Sociedade Portuguesa de Bioquímica, 22 December, 2010.
• “Portuguese Biochemical Society promotion video”, YouTube video, posted by Sociedade Portuguesa de Bioquímica, 20 December, 2010.
• PEP2BRAIN Project.

Social Networks of the group:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miguelcastanholab/?locale=pt_PT
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcastanholab/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/

Societies:

• Sociedade Portuguesa de Bioquímica.
• Federation of European Biochemical Societies.
• International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
• Pan-American Association for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Videos:

• “Estamos preparados para uma próxima pandemia?” (May 2, 2024) on YouTube: Watch here
• “Ciência a acontecer | Miguel Castanho” (March 15, 2023) on YouTube: Watch here
• “Da mama para o cérebro: como se corta esta via rápida do cancro” (November 25, 2024) on Observador website: https://observador.pt/programas/mentes-brilhantes/da-mama-para-o-cerebro-como-se-corta-esta-via-rapida-do-cancro/ 

Books:

“Integrative Human Biochemistry – A Textbook for Medical Biochemistry”, By Andrea T. Da Poian and Miguel A. R. B. Castanho (Collaboration between iMM and UFRJ) 2nd Edition, Springer (New York, USA), 2021.